The present invention relates to a new and distinct cultivar of Diascia plant botanically known as Diascia×hybrida and hereinafter referred to by the cultivar name ‘Balwhispum’.
The new cultivar originated in a controlled breeding program in Guadalupe, Calif. during December 2002. The objective of the breeding program was the development of Diascia cultivars with continuous flowering, medium green-colored foliage, and well-branched, vigorous, mounded and spreading growth habit.
The female (seed) parent of the new cultivar was the proprietary Diascia×hybrida breeding selection designated 3796b-2, not patented, characterized by its deep orange-colored flowers, small-size dark green-colored foliage, and upright spreading growth habit. The male (pollen) parent of the new cultivar was the proprietary Diascia×hybrida breeding selection designated 3402-3-8-1, not patented, characterized by its apricot-colored flowers, medium green-colored foliage, and upright growth habit. The new Diascia was discovered and selected by the inventor as a single flowering plant within the progeny of the above stated cross-pollination during March 2003 in a controlled environment at Guadalupe, Calif.
Asexual reproduction of the new cultivar by terminal stem cuttings since March 2003 at Guadalupe, Calif. and West Chicago, Ill. has demonstrated that the new cultivar reproduces true to type with all characteristics, as herein described, firmly fixed and retained through successive generations of such asexual propagation.